The iPhone activations were a "disappointment," Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster said in a research note. He estimated that Apple sold 200,000 iPhones in the two days to end the quarter. Analyst David Bailey of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had estimated that AT&T and Apple sold 700,000 iPhones in their first three-day weekend.

Apple Inc. shares slipped about 2 percent before the market opened on Tuesday after AT&T Inc. reported initial data on activations for Apple's iPhone that were disappointing to some investors.

"There is no upside surprise on the number," Shannon Cross, an analyst Cross Research, said of AT&T's initial iPhone activatations.

Sure, there are analysts who truly believe that Apple made a boneheaded decision in partnering exclusively with AT&T in the US, and AT&T did drop the ball on activations early on, but still, a two days is far to small a window to condemn AT&T's handling of the iPhone launch. But with everyone's eyes watching the iPhone's launch, both Apple and AT&T should expect to be punished for every small mistake.

Thank You

By registering you become a member of the CBS Interactive family of sites and you have read and agree to the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Video Services Policy. You agree to receive updates, alerts and promotions from CBS and that CBS may share information about you with our marketing partners so that they may contact you by email or otherwise about their products or services.
You will also receive a complimentary subscription to the ZDNet's Tech Update Today and ZDNet Announcement newsletters. You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time.